Man struggles to get refund on anti-virus program

When momentum gets going, things are hard to stop. That's what a San Jose man found out when it came to the automatic renewal of his anti-virus program. Best Buy was actually very accommodating when he attempted to cancel his anti-virus program. The holdup came when it was time to process his refund.

Angelo Gallo bought an anti-virus protection program for his daughter's computer back in 2009. The laptop is no longer in much use, so he called Best Buy to cancel, but his annual fee for the anti-virus protection had just been charged one day earlier.

"So I said, 'Oh shoot, you know.' So I called Best Buy. I said, 'Look, I really would rather not have this,' and they said, 'Oh, it's only been one day, we'll credit you,'" said Gallo.

A few days later, Gallo received an email confirming the cancellation. More than a month later, he called wondering why he hadn't received his refund.

"I got a rep, a really nice rep, and she says, 'Well, it looks like it's in the queue, but it hasn't gone through and I don't know why,'" said Gallo.

Several more months past and with each passing month, he called Best Buy.

"I talked to Kalee here originally back in January, then I talked to Megan, that was in March, then I talked to Gina, that was in April, and the then the last person I talked to was Margaret," said Gallo. "Finally the last time I called. This is like four or five times of calling them, I said, 'Look, I can't call you anymore. I'm just going to call a consumer advocacy group and just let them handle it.'"

He called 7 On Your Side and we contacted Best Buy. The company told us: "The original request was not processed properly and the refund was delayed. We have contacted this customer with our sincere apologies, and verified the full refund has now been received."

"I have to say you know I was really impressed. I never used a service like you guys. I've seen Michael Finney and 7 On Your Side. I said, 'I'm just going to try it because I have nothing to lose,'" said Gallo.

Gallo also expressed thanks to Best Buy, calling its staff extremely nice.